In this extensive, 1-hour conversation with Jesse Day of Commodity Culture, Matterhorn Asset Management partner, Matthew Piepenburg, discusses his evolutionary understanding of precious metals as a wealth-preservation asset. Throughout the conversation, Piepenburg addresses the broader themes of being a critical as well as contrarian thinker in an era of centralized messaging and increasing “group-think.”
The conversation opens with Piepenburg’s transition from hedge-fund “speculator” to precious metal “investor” and the key differences and ramifications behind such an approach/transition. Each investor must decide for him/her self which approach works for their own profile and objectives, and Piepenburg shares the insights and experiences in the hedge-fund space which shaped his own thinking.
Piepenburg then addresses the question of whether criticism of sovereign monetary policy is somehow “anti-patriotic,” which he argues is just the opposite. Dishonesty and centralization within the current financial system requires a “patriotic” criticism as well as increasing demand for accountability. Each investor/citizen has an obligation and right to be better and more transparently informed about the massive ramifications and distortions emanating directly from the US Federal Reserve, which Piepenburg addresses in blunt detail.
Of course, the conversation then turns to gold as a necessary instrument to addressing the debt and currency distortions evolving from years of reckless monetary policies, including the de-dollarization consequences of a weaponized world reserve currency. Piepenburg carefully distinguishes de-dollarization themes from the exaggerated notion that the Dollar’s reserve status is at immediate risk, which he does not see for now.
The conversation ends with a broader discussion of commodity cycles and their relationship with rising and falling risk asset markets. Piepenburg sees volatility in credit and equity markets ahead which can only be “contained” by increasingly less effective instant-liquidity from the Fed. In the end, the only way to “save” markets is via QE monetization, which ultimately and inevitably debases the currency and favors gold as the fiat-USD flips and flops on a rapidly changing global stage.
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